Roundup: U.S. stocks keep falling amid global rout
Xinhua, February 10, 2016 Adjust font size:
U.S. stocks ended mildly lower after choppy trading Tuesday, as a broad-based sell-off in global stock markets weighed on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.67 points, or 0.08 percent, to 16,014.38. The S&P 500 edged down 1.23 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,852.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 14.99 points, or 0.35 percent, to 4,268.76.
Japanese equity market plummeted more than 5 percent Tuesday on the yen's rapid appreciation to an about 15-month high. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plunged 5.40 percent to end at 16,085.44 points.
Chinese stock markets remain closed for the country's one-week long Lunar New Year holiday.
European stocks also suffered broad losses Tuesday on mounting concerns over the prospect of global economy, with German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange going down 1.11 percent.
Oil prices continued to plunge Tuesday, with the Brent crude diving over 6 percent, as production cut from producers seems unlikely.
Oil prices have dived over 20 percent since the start of 2016 as persistent worries about a global supply glut continued to weigh on the market.
The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery moved down 1.75 U.S. dollars to settle at 27.94 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery decreased 2.56 dollars to close at 30.32 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
On the U.S. economic front, the number of job openings increased to 5.6 million on the last business day of December, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 2.08 percent to end at 26.54 Tuesday.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday amid a sell-off in global stocks and declining oil prices.
In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 1.1289 dollars from 1.1198 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 114.90 Japanese yen, lower than 115.34 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed slightly higher for five trading days in a row Tuesday, as a weaker U.S. dollar gave support to the precious metal.
The most active gold contract for April delivery edged up 0.70 dollar, or 0.06 percent, to settle at 1,198.60 dollars per ounce. Endit